16
New Character Card
Jiang Qi remained seated in the room, the booklet in his hands already flipped to the last page.
“Congratulations to Player Jiang Qi for obtaining [Character Card] ×1. Please check your Card Pack.”
Another Character Card.
This time, Jiang Qi didn’t rush to open the system panel to check the card. Instead, he skimmed through Wei Ruyue’s Character Book first.
It consisted of only three pages, with very little information. Wei Ruyue’s Character Book briefly introduced her background, followed by details about the God of Cookery Competition that Jiang Qi had overheard from bystanders in his memories.
After reading Wei Ruyue’s book, Jiang Qi flipped through the other Character Books. They were all similar—merely providing background introductions.
Among the 30 contestants, some sought fame, some sought profit, some genuinely wanted to learn and become apprentices, and some simply enjoyed joining in the excitement. Regardless of their initial motives, their goal was the same—to win the competition and become the successor of the God of Cooking.
As for the specific gameplay, it was all detailed in the Host Handbook.
Jiang Qi then browsed through the Host Handbook and realized why it was so thick—it was filled with game rules.
Games like Ten People Nine Feet, Untangle the Chain, Guess What I Draw, Werewolf, Undercover Spy, Guess the Song, Musical Chairs, Dice Rolling, Fight the Landlord, 24 Points, Texas Hold’em, and many other recreational games Jiang Qi had never heard of. There was even what appeared to be a simplified, self-created tabletop RPG. The Host Handbook explicitly detailed how to earn points in different games, recommended game types and quantities for different player numbers, and stated that the player with the highest points would be the MVP of the session.
This was a purely team-building script—all about playing, however one wanted.
Throughout the script, the Game Master would guide the players by role-playing as Huang Fugui, the host of the God of Cookery Competition. Because of this, the Host Handbook provided a more detailed description of Huang Fugui.
For example, his son passed the imperial examination last year and now studied at home every day, insisting on eating the Vegetable Noodle he made daily.
Another example: although his son and grandson loved Vegetable Noodle, Madam Huang despised it. This was because when Huang Fugui worked as a peddler, the family was poor, and the best food they could afford was plain noodles. Once, Huang Fugui earned some money selling cloth before the New Year, and the family ate boiled noodles for an entire month during the festivities, which made Madam Huang sick of them.
These were small easter eggs in the script. If players neglected the games and instead chatted with the Game Master to uncover these details, they could earn extra points.
Of course, the biggest easter egg in the script was what Jiang Qi had seen in his memories: after the competition, Huang Fugui would reveal the truth about the God of Cooking to the players and serve each of them a bowl of Vegetable Noodle with a poached egg—a small surprise.
This was also why the script came with props for 30 bowls and chopsticks, a pot, and an induction cooker.
Overall, God of Cookery Competition was a highly flexible script.
After fully understanding the script, Jiang Qi opened the system panel and accessed his Card Pack.
As expected, the Character Card he obtained was Huang Fugui.
[Character Card: Huang Fugui] (Summonable)
Star Rating: ★
Skill: Vegetable Noodle (A Vegetable Noodle from the ‘God of Cooking’—its deliciousness is self-evident.)
Acting True to Life (Everyone is good at playing themselves. Some find it tedious, while others never tire of it.)
Card Details: The ‘God of Cooking’ from Taiping Town. Masters the art of making Vegetable Noodles to perfection. Charitable and kind, renowned as a benefactor in the surrounding villages. Enjoys joining in the fun and trying new things. Friendly and approachable, with low material desires, though somewhat averse to trouble.
(Friendly reminder: Each card slot can only hold three Cards. Players, please choose carefully and strive to upgrade your Cards.)
Without any hesitation, Jiang Qi clicked to summon.
“Ding, congratulations to player Jiang Qi for summoning the one-star Character Card [Huang Fugui]. The character has appeared near the shop. Please find them yourself.”
Familiarity breeds ease. Jiang Qi immediately went downstairs and left the shop to search for the person.
Huang Fugui was an ancient man from a parallel timeline. Finding someone dressed in ancient attire on a modern street was even easier than finding a foreigner like Old John. In less than five minutes, Jiang Qi spotted Huang Fugui at the entrance of a fried chicken shop, studying the menu while wearing a silk robe.
The fried chicken shop owner had seen it all over the years, having encountered many cosplay enthusiasts. He wasn’t particularly interested in middle-aged customers like Huang Fugui who loved wearing ancient-style clothing, but he was growing impatient as Huang Fugui had been deliberating over an order of Korean-style fried chicken for five minutes without reaching a decision.
“What flavor do you want? Half-and-half, a whole chicken, or a combo?” the owner asked impatiently. Just then, a delivery order came in, and the owner turned to check it.
Huang Fugui silently looked at Jiang Qi.
Jiang Qi understood, pulled out his phone to scan the code, and called out to the owner, who was checking the delivery order, “Boss, one deluxe combo, sweet and spicy flavor is fine.”
“Sweet and spicy is the basic option,” Jiang Qi explained to Huang Fugui.
Huang Fugui nodded cheerfully, continuously observing the surroundings.
After getting the fried chicken, Jiang Qi didn’t take Huang Fugui back to the shop. Instead, he went to a noodle restaurant where he knew the owner, ordered a bowl of mung bean soup, and sat in the innermost corner to eat and chat.
Huang Fugui carried very little: a set of clothes, a jade pendant of decent quality, a sachet embroidered by Madam Huang, and a money pouch containing two taels of broken silver and over a dozen copper coins.
Jiang Qi briefly explained the current situation to Huang Fugui, who took it all in stride and said that Jiang Qi only needed to treat him the same way he treated Old John. As an ancient country gentleman with a relatively rich persona and distinct personality, Huang Fugui could figure out many things on his own without needing guidance.
Jiang Qi was naturally pleased with Huang Fugui’s cooperative and easygoing attitude. As for Huang Fugui’s job, Jiang Qi had already made up his mind.
“The shop is short-staffed at the moment. If you don’t mind, you can temporarily serve as the Game Master. Don’t worry about food and accommodation—I’ll arrange everything for you.”
“If anyone asks, just say you were previously in the county’s theater troupe. After the troupe disbanded, you happened to see my online job posting. You came for an interview today and passed, now in the probationary period.”
The Game Master for the “God of Cookery Competition” script was Huang Fugui himself, making him the perfect fit for the role.
“No problem,” Huang Fugui readily agreed, nodding to show he’d remembered. “So, are we heading to the shop now?”
“No.” Seeing that Huang Fugui had finished the fried chicken, Jiang Qi glanced at his jet-black, glossy long hair tied up—the kind that would make countless balding youths envious—paused for a moment, and said, “I’m afraid you’ll need to get a haircut first.”
“A haircut?” Huang Fugui was momentarily stunned. He looked at Jiang Qi’s hairstyle, then at the noodle shop owner’s, and suddenly understood. “Right, all men here have short hair. Fine, where do we go?”
Jiang Qi took Huang Fugui to a small barbershop at the end of the alley with only one “Tony” stylist. These alleyway Tonys usually weren’t very skilled, but they were cheap—just 10 yuan for a men’s haircut, a veritable breath of fresh air in today’s haircut market where prices typically ranged from 30 to 50 yuan.
The 10-yuan Tony marveled at Huang Fugui’s hair, exclaiming, “Bro, you’re really committed to cosplay! You’ve been growing this hair for years, haven’t you? Never dyed or permed it, and you’ve been taking good care of it too—the quality is amazing.”
Though Huang Fugui didn’t understand Tony’s words, he knew it was a compliment and cheerfully replied, “Just kept it growing.”
“Bro, would you sell this hair? Since you’re going for a buzz cut anyway… such long hair, such great quality… I won’t cheat you—how about 280? That’s definitely a fair price.”
As soon as Tony said this, Jiang Qi’s heart sank.
“Body, hair, and skin are received from one’s parents”—Jiang Qi had seen how people in period dramas acted like having their hair cut was life-threatening. He was already surprised that Huang Fugui had agreed so readily to the haircut, and now Tony was asking if he’d sell his hair…
Jiang Qi quietly moved closer to the scissors nearest Huang Fugui, ready to prevent any sudden violent outburst that might leave blood splattered everywhere.
Huang Fugui looked puzzled. Tony, thinking he was dissatisfied with the price, continued persuading: “280 isn’t low! The barbershop at the alley entrance only paid 160 for a girl’s hair the day before yesterday, and hers was slightly shorter than yours. I’m offering this price because your hair quality is so good—no other shop would offer more.”
Finally understanding, Huang Fugui’s face lit up with surprise: “You can sell hair for money?”
“Of course! Oh right, we usually don’t ask men, so it’s normal you didn’t know.”
Jiang Qi: ?
Under Jiang Qi’s bewildered gaze, Huang Fugui began haggling with Tony, eventually raising the original 280 offer to 330 plus a free haircut. Tony didn’t get angry and actually enjoyed bargaining with Huang Fugui, giving him a standard buzz cut. As Jiang Qi and Huang Fugui were leaving, Tony cheerfully told Huang Fugui to come back next time for a discounted 8-yuan haircut.
Who would have thought? Within just one hour of being summoned, before even understanding what a mobile phone was, Huang Fugui had earned his first bucket of gold through his hair and bargaining skills.
“If I’d known hair could be sold, I would have collected it back when I was a peddler,” Huang Fugui mused.
Jiang Qi: …
What a pro. A real master.